EXPLAINED | Why Australia are playing in Asian Cup 2024 despite not being in Asia territorially

The AFC Asian Cup is all set to take the spotlight for the next few days as Asia’s biggest international football competition started on Friday (Jan 12) in Qatar. Originally planned to start in June 2023, the tournament was postponed to January 2024 after hosts Qatar were involved in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup while weather conditions were also taken into account. With 24 teams battling for glory at the continental showpiece, Australia (better known as Socceroos) remain in the spotlight for different reasons as they bid to win their second title.

Australia’s participation in Asian Cup

Considering geographical constraints, Australia is not part of Asia and is technically part of the Australian continent which consists of Oceanic nations. Until 2006 Australia was part of the Oceanic Football Confederation (OFC) and did not participate in the Asian Cup. However, considering the nature of football competition available and limited chances to reach the FIFA World Cup, Australia switched to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006.

Australia's competition in OFC consisted of teams like Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands and several other countries. The Socceroos’ best competition came in the form of arch-rivals on the global stage New Zealand. However, with no big competition, Football Australia (FA) decided to switch to AFC to provide a good platform for the players to develop their game.

Geographically, Australia is closest to Asia which prompted the move to AFC with the latter welcoming the proposal and passing it in 2006.

FIFA World Cup qualification factor

Another major factor in Australia's switch to the AFC involves the FIFA World Cup qualification. Since becoming a full-time FIFA member in 1966, Australia only qualified twice for the World Cup in 1974 and 2006. OFC’s low-ranked teams also saw them get only 0.5 slots (according to the FIFA coefficient) in the FIFA World Cup, which results in a playoff spot and not a guaranteed spot in the mega event. Before 2006, the Socceroos would end up facing a big South American side in the playoff and fail to reach the FIFA World Cup.

AFC, guaranteed 4.5 slots (four guaranteed spots and one playoff spot) in the FIFA World Cup, presented a better opportunity for Australia to reach the showpiece tournament. Considering the talent and competition faced at the senior level, Australia's move to the AFC made more sense for Asian nations. An increase in competition has also resulted in better performance.

Since its move to the AFC in 2006, Australia has qualified for all the FIFA World Cups including 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers saw them beat Peru in the playoff match on a penalty shootout.

Australia’s performance in the Asian Cup

Since their move to the AFC, Australia has been a force to reckon with having won the Asian Cup in 2015. They lost only one match in the tournament which was in the group stage of the tournament against South Korea. Interestingly, the Socceroos beat South Korea after extra time in the final to clinch their maiden title. In 2011, they had finished runners-up to Japan having lost in extra time against the Asian giants. In 2019 they were eliminated in the quarterfinal of the Asian Cup while in 2007, Australia’s maiden appearance, they exited on penalties in the last eight stage.

Has any other nation switched federation?

In 1991, the Israel national football team and its clubs were given UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) full membership despite having competed in Asia. Israel was the continental champion in 1964 when they won the Asian Cup having hosted the tournament. Interestingly, it was during this time they started losing their grip on the AFC. Having gone to war with Egypt, Syria and Jordan in 1967, the majority of Middle-East Islamic countries refused to play Israel.

Later in 1974, Kuwait initiated a motion against Israel during the 1974 Asian Games where North Korea also joined hands. This resulted in the AFC expelling Israel from its full-time membership before switching alliances. While the full UEFA membership arrived in 1991 for Israel, they had already started playing in European football since the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Most recently, the AFC also opened its arms for Russia, suspended by UEFA, to become a full-time member of the confederation. However, upon voting, that proposal was not passed by the Russian Football Federation and is still part of Europe under UEFA’s membership.